June11, 2007

Madam Speaker, Noe Aleman is a 12-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol in the El Paso sector. He and his wife, Isbell, who have no children of their own, plan to adopt his wife's three fatherless nieces from Mexico.

They hired a U.S. immigration lawyer and paid him $40,000 to help with the process. The girls were given temporary visas, but when they expired after 6 months, Agent Aleman went to the immigration service to find out why.

Aleman was arrested for harboring illegals and making false reports on the application. Apparently the lawyer listed the girls as adults instead of minors. In any event, Aleman was prosecuted and convicted. The girls were arrested and deported back to Mexico and live in an orphanage where they have been for 2 years.

Today, Aleman went to a Federal penitentiary. And yes, he was prosecuted by the same U.S. Attorney's Office, the same judge heard the case as the Ramos and Compean cases.

Unfortunately, every time a border agent is prosecuted in the Western District of Texas, the U.S. Attorney's Office has a credibility problem; and this case is automatically suspect and suspicious.